Toyota Will Present First Details on Hydrogen Fuel Cell in Frankfurt

ToyotaToyotaJapan, 1937 > present155 models
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announced yesterday that it would show the concept for its production hydrogen fuel cell car at the Tokyo Motor Show in November and will have it on sale for 2015 in Japan, the United States and Europe. The electric motor system will be shared with the PriusToyota Prius Gen.3Japan, 2010 > present52 versions
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, but the electricity will be generated from a fuel cell.

Toyota previously showed a concept for a fuel cell as the FCV-RToyota FCV-RJapan, 2012 > present2 photos
concept, but the next concept will be closer to production ready. The FCV-R concept was 35mm longer than a AvensisToyota Avensis Gen.3Japan, 2009 > present122 versions
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and had a maximum range of 420 miles with no CO2, NOx or particulate emissions. The only emission for hydrogen fuel cells is water vapor.

For the production version, the entire fuel cell system consisting of two fuel tanks and the fuel cell stack, which produces the actual electricity, are fitted under the floor and have no impact on interior space. 

At the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show, Toyota will give a demonstration of the fuel cell technology that will be used in the car and how it will achieve its goals. Toyota says that if it went on sale today, its fuel cell vehicle would cost less than £70,000, but prices will be significantly lower when production actually begins.

The big challenge for Toyota with offering a hydrogen fuel cell is not the technology but the fueling. With a hybrid, the car is producing its own electricity, and with a plug-in hybrid, the owner can generally charge at home and have enough power for a whole day. This will not be the case for fuel cells. If the driver runs out of hydrogen, then the car will not go anywhere. According to the US Department of Energy, there are ten hydrogen refueling points in the entire United States and seven of them are in the Los Angeles, California, area. It is going to be a big challenge to overcome.